Chapter 589 I Swore an Oath to the Sword, But She Brought Premium Wine
The gap between them was simply too large. Lin Feng stood in the heavens.
Shen Jue stood on the ground. Comparing the two was almost laughable.
With a sigh, Shen Jue emptied another jar.
At some point, his frustration slowly transformed into acceptance.
"If I can’t be the one beside her..."
He stared toward the sky.
"...then I can only hope that one day I find someone who truly loves me."
For the first time in many years, he felt as though it was finally time to let go.
The thought was painful. But strangely enough, it also felt liberating.
As the competition continued and thousands of brushes moved across their canvases, Shen Jue silently watched from the crowd, wondering what fate had prepared for him in the future.
"Oh? So you give up that easily? How pathetic."
Just as Shen Jue was sinking into his despair, a cold and unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed inside his ears.
His body stiffened.
The voice had come without warning, as though it had appeared out of thin air.
Shen Jue immediately released his divine sense and swept his surroundings.
Every corner of his immediate surroundings, every blade of grass, every fluctuation of spiritual energy was thoroughly inspected.
Yet he found nothing. Not a single person was nearby who could have spoken these words to him.
For a moment, he wondered if his emotions had become so unstable that he was imagining things.
"I am real. I’m inside your soul."
The voice sounded again.
This time Shen Jue’s expression changed drastically.
Inside his soul? That was impossible.
A cultivator’s soul was one of the most sacred and protected places in existence.
Even powerful experts would find it difficult to enter another person’s soul unnoticed.
Yet this mysterious existence had somehow hidden itself there without him realizing it.
"Who are you?"
Shen Jue’s voice became solemn.
His spiritual sense immediately descended into his sea of consciousness.
He searched every corner repeatedly, refusing to overlook even the smallest detail.
However, no matter how hard he looked, he could not find the owner of the voice.
It was as if the person simply did not exist.
"Don’t bother searching. You won’t find me."
The man chuckled.
"I am a friend. And I am here to help you. More importantly, stop looking for me. I’d rather not attract the attention of someone you know as Feng Lin."
The moment the name was spoken, Shen Jue’s pupils contracted.
Feng Lin.
The mysterious supreme expert who had recently shaken the entire Tang Clan.
The man who had effortlessly demonstrated the Grand Dao of Painting.
The man whom even Tang Jingyan respected deeply.
Anyone capable of hiding from Feng Lin’s senses was certainly not ordinary.
"What do you want?"
Shen Jue asked cautiously. His heart remained vigilant.
He had lived for thousands of years.
He had witnessed countless schemes, betrayals, and conspiracies.
He knew better than anyone that favors from strangers often carried hidden costs.
"I don’t need anyone’s help."
"Really?"
The voice sounded amused.
"Then why are you sitting here alone like a defeated dog?"
Shen Jue’s expression darkened. The voice continued mercilessly.
"You love Tang Jingyan, don’t you?"
Silence.
"You have loved her for hundreds of years. You watched her from afar. You protected her when she needed help. You remained by her side hoping that one day she would look at you differently."
Every word struck directly at Shen Jue’s heart. The voice knew far too much.
"Yet in the end, what happened?"
The mysterious man laughed softly.
"She never chose you."
Shen Jue clenched his fists. His nails dug deeply into his palms. The voice spoke again.
"Instead, a man named Feng Lin appeared. In a matter of days, he accomplished what you could not achieve in centuries."
Shen Jue’s breathing became heavier.
He hated to admit it, but those words were true.
No matter how much effort he had invested, Tang Jingyan had never viewed him as more than a friend.
Meanwhile, Feng Lin had effortlessly occupied a place in her heart.
The unfairness of it all still tormented him.
"If you want her," the voice said calmly, "I can help you."
Shen Jue’s eyes narrowed.
"And why would you help me?"
"Because I need something from you."
"What?"
The mysterious voice paused.
When it spoke again, its tone had become much colder.
"First, I need to know whether you possess enough courage."
Shen Jue remained silent. The atmosphere became tense.
His instincts warned him that accepting this offer could lead him down a dangerous path.
Yet another part of him... the wounded and jealous part buried deep within his heart could not ignore the temptation.
The possibility of finally obtaining what he had desired for so many years was simply too alluring.
Several minutes passed. Finally, Shen Jue slowly raised his head.
A complicated light flashed within his eyes.
"I am listening."
The mysterious voice laughed.
A sinister laughter that seemed to echo endlessly within the darkness of his soul.
"Good."
"Then let us discuss your future."
***
"Hmmm?"
Lin Feng frowned slightly.
A strange feeling had suddenly appeared in his heart, subtle yet impossible to ignore.
It was not danger, nor was it killing intent.
Rather, it was a vague sense of unease, as though something beyond his sight had begun to move.
A moment later, his expression returned to its usual calmness.
However, beneath that calm exterior, his divine sense had already swept across the entirety of his multiverse.
Countless worlds flashed through his perception.
Stars, galaxies, immortal realms, mortal worlds, hidden dimensions, and endless rivers of space-time all appeared before him.
Every law, every living being, every fluctuation of energy was laid bare beneath his gaze.
Nothing could escape his observation.
Yet after thoroughly inspecting every corner of his dominion, Lin Feng found nothing unusual.
No hidden enemy. No disturbance in the Heavenly Dao.
No powerful expert intruding into his territory. Nothing. His eyes narrowed slightly.
If it had been anyone else, they would have dismissed the feeling as mere imagination.